Why do Nintendo games never drop in price?

I went to Target today and saw comments in another topic and we keep seeing 3 year old Wii games still being sold for 40 bucks?

Why? Look, I'm not here to start a console war issue, but the xbox 360 and ps3 games drop in price greatly, sometimes a lot of games drop to 5 bucks in a couple years, like Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 to name a few. Why doesn't popular Wii games like Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess drop to 5 bucks?

I'm gonna be honest, I was close to asking for a Wii U for Christmas, but one of the main drawbacks I saw was that although the Wii U had BC, lots of Wii games are still relatively expensive as hell.

Any chance Wii U games will eventually drop to say, under 10 bucks or so, even the most popular ones?---this screenshot is for warcraft 3 players: http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5835/masscritters.jpg

#2AhnoldDoodPosted 4/30/2013 6:23:30 PM

I have no clue, really.

#3stop3Posted 4/30/2013 6:24:35 PM

Often they do drop in price. It just doesn't happen as quickly as other company's titles drop.

I can find a ton of old Nintendo games on Amazon that are lower than what they were initially released at. (I can also find a ton that sell for more than what they were initially released for.)

#4CoolmanCPosted 4/30/2013 6:25:19 PM

No, Nintendo games for the most part never drop in price. The only reason that I can come up with is because of supply and demand. People at Nintendo know that if you want to play their games you have to buy the system. Their games are like no other games out there. For this reason they set the price. They keep it at that price because there is no other company that will create an experience like it. So, why should they change it? If it makes them money and people will still buy. They are happy.---PSN 360 WII UShinmigami

#5stop3Posted 4/30/2013 6:27:23 PM

Nope they DO drop in price. I bought a bunch of SNES carts on amazon this year that were way, WAY less than they originally sold for.

Everyone knows there's only five good games for the system so they keep em high. Eventually, you'll buy. You have to. If you're a Ninty fan.

#8lt519Posted 4/30/2013 6:53:15 PM

Beatperson14 posted...

$$$

Everyone knows there's only five good games for the system so they keep em high. Eventually, you'll buy. You have to. If you're a Ninty fan.

I think they realize that whenever they sell a system the first games anyone buys are the system sellers made by Nintendo. My guess is the analysis shows that a price drop would generate less revenue than keeping the original price and selling to only new console adopters. If only we had insight into nintendos financials.

#9blinkfreakPosted 4/30/2013 6:53:20 PM

stop3 posted...

Nope they DO drop in price. I bought a bunch of SNES carts on amazon this year that were way, WAY less than they originally sold for.

If you bought them sealed then you paid way more than what they were originally sold for.

Also, Nintendo games do get price drops but it is years later. That is why I always buy Nintendo first party games on launch because I know I won't be getting it cheaper any time soon. Plus now they have been doing the "intend to buy" extra coins thing too.

#10DBPanterAPosted 4/30/2013 6:54:21 PM

Answer:

The reason we see little to no drop in price is because Nintendo is an anomaly in regards to video game software (games). When we observe most games, their sales the first month on the shelves equates to the vast majority of their overall sales. This is why we see games for $20 off or half off after a month, because retailers do not want to have extra software on their shelves that will not sell, so they have a sale to at least break even and get their inventory down.

Nintendo's software, on the other hand, is referred to as ever green. While sales initially are high, the unique aspect of their games is that they continue to have measurable sales months and even years after release.

As a consumer, it means if you see games that are on sale, you better snatch them up fast because it often signifies that the particular retailer has bough too many units (games) and needs to get some out the door. It could also mean they simply want you in the doors to buy another item that will generate profit for the given retailer.

It is not until very late, once a game has sold millions of copies, that Nintendo will make the game a Nintendo Choice or Nintendo Select game, and sell it for $20.---NNID: Minny6123DS FC: 5155-2933-9036